Small community boasts biggest bang
One of the Okanagan’s smaller communities boasts of having the biggest Canada Day fireworks show in all of Western Canada.
Organizers of the 70th annual Cherry Fiesta in Osoyoos say the pyrotechnic show they have planned for Sunday night will far outshine fireworks in other Valley towns and cities.
“Everybody in town donates toward the show,” Kelly Glazer of Destination Osoyoos said Tuesday. “Our budget this year is $85,000, and the show will be more than half an hour long.”
“I’ve been assured that this is the biggest Canada Day fireworks show in the country, outside of Ottawa,” Glazer said.
By comparison, the fireworks show Sunday night in Kelowna will last between 20 and 25 minutes.
“Our costs are about $1,500 a minute,” said Renata Mills of Festivals Kelowna.
Kelowna’s fireworks start at 10:30 p.m., with the best viewing anywhere along the downtown waterfront.
In West Kelowna, where the fireworks start at 10:15 p.m. on Saturday rather than Canada Day, the expected duration is between 12 and 14 minutes.
“We’ve got a $10,000 grant from Mission Hill Winery to add to the show,” Westside Daze organizer Leah Thordarson said. “But we’ve decided to use it to increase the number of fireworks being shot off at once rather than stretch the show out, so there'll be more bang for the buck.”
In Peachland, the town’s fireworks budget is $5,500 for the Sunday night show, to start at 10:30 p.m.
“Our fire department is trained in setting off fireworks, so we don’t have to pay for labour,” said recreation director Cheryl Wiebe.
The fireworks are set off at Heritage Park in downtown Peachland, but anywhere along the waterfront affords good viewing.
In Vernon, where the Canada Day fireworks are sponsored by Craftsman Collision, the shells are shot from a barge at the north end of Okanagan Lake beginning at 10:30 p.m.
Vantage points are Paddlewheel Park, Kin Beach, Bench Road, and Bella Vista Road and Lakeshore Road. The show will be synchronized to music on 107.5 FM Beach radio.
“It has to be a direct FM radio reception rather than a cellphone or other online playing device to synchronize correctly, due to internet delays,” fireworks supervisor Terry Schmauder says. “If it’s out of sync, it really ruins the experience.”
In Penticton, the fireworks have been arranged by the Penticton Lakeside Resort for years, with very little funding from the city.
Due to the cost involved, the Lakeside now accepts donations from corporate and private donors. The hotel partnered with the Downtown Penticton Association.
This year’s display is the biggest ever, said Lakeside director of sales and marketing Brannigan Mosses, who said $25,000 is being committed to the 22-minute spectacle.
“The support from the community this year was excellent,” Mosses said. “We went with a different funding matrix, which really seemed to help us reach our goal a lot sooner.”
Major donors include Ellisdon Construction, Murray Buick GMC, Poplar Grove Winery, Da Silva Winery and SW Event Technology, among many others.
The show begins at 10 p.m. with the best vantage point being anywhere along Lakeshore Drive.
There are no Canada Day fireworks in Lake Country.
“We’ve historically not had the budget for that,” volunteer organizer Dave Colquhoun said.